A cold and disruptive month of house building work, which takes its toll on the health of our family, but one also of good progress with The Hayling View project, even though my computer industry work has tailed off. The USA/USSR arms talks suffer a roller coaster of expectations but end up with optimism. Anglo-Irish pact is ratified my parliament who are on the verge of admitting TV cameras for the first time but the headlines feature murders and assassinations along with the expected deterioration of South African stability as apartheid suffers its death throws. The biggest loss of life is in the mud and meltwater from the Columbian volcano eruption engulfing the complete village of Amero
And so ends November – a month of cold and disruption and, in all, a most uncomfortable period to suffer and survive. It is strange to see how the recent weather changes have fitted the months, but November has been bitterly cold and so most of the leaves have fallen from the deciduous trees – the sycamore first, then the hawthorns and lastly the oak tree was clinging to its leaves until the last minute. Outside, Peter has cleared a bit more of the new riverside plot, felling the ash and sycamore saplings in the corner destined for the workshop and lastly the willow by the river, which was growing far too big. The rest of the gardens have been well maintained, with only the lawns close to the building work muddied. Now the new front path and ramp are installed, the adjacent lawns have to be re-levelled and turfed anyway and should thereafter escape further damage. Most of the building work is finished on this year’s phase of the house, and next week should see the plastering and finishing of the utility room and another boiler being installed. Then they have to finish off the hall and move the second boiler, the decorators and furnishers have to catch up, then the remaining work will be outside on the balconies only. Our decision to postpone further building work and demolition in the last quarter of the house until the New Year is undoubtedly a good one.
In the meantime, the Lady, snug under its winter cover, has been kept warm by running the engine and heating during the heavy frosts. The new doves have now settled to their new environment and need little attention now, but the ducks are off-lay and are not helped by the irregular feeding I give them. The disruption of the past months has led to my industry work falling by the wayside, but I am pledged to attend the BMMG meeting on Wednesday and assist Jarogate with their factory opening on Thursday and so that might get me back into the swing of things. However, I am only offering to advise and declining to help them for Compec. Most of the family have head colds, which is not surprising in this weather and draft, but Di is the worst off with her food withdrawal and eye problems. I hope she will cheer up, but we are still a couple of weeks away from ‘normality,’ thought our conditions improve all the time. We look forward to December as a much better month on the domestic front. Daniel is in the middle of his term examinations and has been doing better in his Maths and Physics and we have a delightful school visit to see Debbie’s work and she is now going to ballet and swimming classes. With Diana’s play school, phonic help, slimming and keep fit, they all have their commitments to keep. Poor Diana suffers from the cold with a fractious Della but loses 5lbs in the slimming club. For my part, my hobbies are taking a back seat to my handyman jobs, but at least my back is holding up, in spite of not doing the exercises, which only seem to make it worse. Mum has had a new injection and I hope she has improved, Freda has moved out of the large house and away from Stacey’s vicinity, in spite of my advice to the contrary and will have to fend for herself now. The news here in the UK is that the new Arc Royal is commissioned by HRH The Queen Mother amidst concerns about privatisation of the maintenance yards. At Jordon’s Mill in Biggeswade. Who provide us with our duck and pigeon food. our friends have rebuilt their mill and are milling flour and should be back to milling pellets in three weeks’ time and that, together with Mrs Jorden’s health food shop on site, heralds the start of their whole food and meusli business. Prince Charles and Lady Diana now wow the Americans and John Travolta dances with Lady Di at President Reagan’s party, Terry Waite sets off to try and get the release of the Western hostages in The Lebanon, the racist headmaster Honeyford’s sacking is deemed lawful and four men are questioned about the Chelsea barracks bombs. Unionists up in arms over the Anglo Irish pact terms. But it is supported in The Commons and ratified by both Houses of Parliament. There is another tragic motorway crash with 53 injured. My old friend and colleague, John Lamb, and I catch up over lunch at The Southoe Bell and I listen to his disillusionment with Kode but decline to join any alternative business venture. The House of Commons are on the verge of welcoming TV cameras for the first time, the St Neots Ekins Pig Auction looks to be finishing in the New Year and the murderer of Leoni Keating is now charged. The Labour Executive suspend the Liverpool Labour Party for extremism but they soon adopt a realistic budget, even if it is based on huge borrowing. The Glasgow gas explosion is very shocking and destructive and a UDR captain is murdered by the IRA . There is news of another assassination in London, this time of the charismatic exiled leader of a Seychelles party, Gerard Hoarau, by the Sychelles government. Further afield, the South African authorities swamp Johannesburg to suppress demonstrations and press coverage and there is further news of South African curbs on press freedom and marches to Trafalgar Square in London and others in Pretoria in protest with ANC President Oliver Tambo the principal speaker. In retaliation, a journalist who interviewed the ANC leader being jailed for three years by the repressive South African regime . Speculation mounts about the possible release of Nelson Mandela in South Africa as South African guerrillas fire rockets at an oil refinery. Two French agents plead guilty to the Greepeace boat sinking. In the US/USSR arms limitation talks, Reagan is posturing for his “peace mission” as he leaves for Geneva and the arms conference soon has the US faltering over its demands for USSR human rights as the Russians steal the publicity show but talks conclude in Geneva with optimism such that Reagan takes Congress by storm over arms control progress . However, here in England, a new security gate goes up at Molesworth. Two Sikhs are arrested for downing the Air India Jumbo Jet, Kasparov beats Karpov in the World Chess Championships and a Columbian volcano erupts and, together with meltwater to form a ‘Lahar’, engulfing the village of Amero and killing tens of thousands of people. Malta airliner hijack comes to a violent end in Egypt at a time of even more widespread violence elsewhere